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A nationwide survey of over 20,000 people looked at the regular
intake of calcium-fortified milk containing Bifidobacterium longum BB536
and health status

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Morinaga
Milk Industry Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:2264), Japanese leading dairy product
company, today unveiled the results of a nationwide survey jointly
conducted with Tokyo Healthcare University in Japan on the health status
of over 20,000 middle-aged to elderly men and women for the purpose of
investigating the relationship between regular consumption of
calcium-fortified milk containing Bifidobacterium longum BB536
and health status.

The results reveal that subjects regularly consuming the probiotic milk
were less likely to experience fractures and several diseases, and
showed improvement in forgetfulness, quality of life in daily living,
which supports the benefits of B. longum BB536 for anti-aging.

“The results obtained from this survey linked the continuous consumption
of the probiotic milk supplemented with B. longum BB536 for
reducing some disease risks, such as colon cancer, and in helping to
prevent certain aging-related challenges of middle-aged to elderly
people, in such areas as forgetfulness for example,” stated Dr. Taeko
Shimoda, professor of Tenshi College, professor emeritus of Tokyo
Healthcare University.

“Although other components in the milk, such as calcium, might have also
contributed to the outcomes of the present survey, B. longum BB536
is believed to possess an important function from a point of view of
improving intestinal health and the relationship with the gut-brain
axis.”

The Survey Shows the Potential of Probiotic Milk Consumption for
Anti-Aging

Questionnaires were distributed to middle-aged to elderly men and women
aged in their 50s to 80s with or without experience of consuming
“calcium fortified milk containing BB536,” from December 2013 to March
2014. A total of 92,110 questionnaires were distributed and 23,188
effective answers were received. Data analysis was performed by
comparison between subjects with experience of the probiotic milk
consumption for ≥ 3 years and for ≥4 times per week and subjects without
experience of consumption of this probiotic milk.

Compared with the non-intake group, the probiotic milk-consuming group
(intake group) showed the following;

The proportions of subjects who had (a tendency to) constipation were
lower in both men and women.

The proportions of subjects who experienced forgetfulness (men and
women), fatigue (women) and low back pain (women) in daily life were
lower.

For women who had consumed the milk for over 10 years, fewer subjects
experienced bone fractures in the past 5 years.

Risk for experiencing forgetfulness in daily life (Fig.1)

The result showed that there was a significant reduction of risk for
forgetfulness by 19% (P = 0.03) and 14% (P = 0.002) for men and women,
respectively, in the intake group compared to non-intake group.

There was a significant reduction of risk for history development of a
colon polyp by 26% (P = 0.003) for men in the intake group compared to
non-intake group. B. longum BB536 has shown its effect in
suppressing the development of carcinogenesis induced by carcinogen in
male and female rats (Reddy and Rivenson,1993). In addition, intake of
yogurt containing B. longum BB536 lowered the cell number of
enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF), a bacteria which has
been suggested to be associated with diarrheal disease, inflammatory
bowel disease and colorectal cancer (Odamaki et al., 2012). The
present survey suggests the possible effect of consumption of the
probiotic milk supplemented with B. longum BB536 in lowering the
risk of colon cancer.

Risk of experiencing bone fractures in the past 5 years

The proportion of history of bone fractures in the past 5 years was
significantly lower in the intake group compared to non-intake group for
women, with a significant reduction of risk for experiencing bone
fractures by 16% (P = 0.04). The proportion of history of bone fractures
in men was lower than that in women, and there was no significant
difference between the intake and non-intake groups.

Igarashi et al. (1994) reported that a simultaneous
administration of B. longum BB536 and milk calcium was more
effective in improving the bone strength as compared to administration
of calcium alone in rats. The present survey suggested the potential for
B. longum BB536 in lowering the risk of bone fractures.

About BB536 and Morinaga

Bifidobacterium longum BB536 was isolated from human intestine
and is one of the most thoroughly researched probiotic strains in the
world. Morinaga has conducted research and development on BB536 for over
40 years, and achieved U.S. FDA-notified GRAS in 2009. Supported by over
110 published studies, BB536’s beneficial effects have been confirmed in
such clinical areas as intestinal health, immunity, infection, and
allergy.

Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. is the second largest dairy product
company in Japan, founded in 1917 and employing 3,080 people. Morinaga
has exhibited excellence in the field of technology and has offered not
only dairy products but also other beneficial functional ingredients to
the world for years. For more information, visit us at http://www.morinagamilk.co.jp/english/.